WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced that it has joined the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) as an Organizational Stakeholder (OS), becoming a member of GRI’s global network of organizations and companies that are committed to transparency, accountability and sustainable development.
GRI is a network-based organization that produces a consensus-based, globally used sustainability Reporting Framework, allowing users to produce transparent, fully disclosed reports on environmental, social and governance performance. Working with the United Nations, governments and many prominent companies, GRI is the world’s most widely used corporate social responsibility reporting mechanism.
“Building performance metrics and reporting is crucial to our movement,” said Scot Horst, Senior Vice President of LEED, USGBC. “Data collection and reporting allows us to optimize the performance of our buildings in a transparent and teachable way. By working with GRI, USGBC can remain on the front lines of performance reporting technology, and offer state-of-the-art tools and procedures to our green building community.”
“We are honored to have USGBC become an Organizational Stakeholder of GRI. There is already a tremendous overlap in our efforts, in addition to the wide range of organization with whom we both work. We look forward to increasing this overlap as we work together to create a sustainable global economy,” said Mike Wallace, Director, Focal Point USA.
The GRI OS program broadens participation around transparency in sustainability, providing legitimacy to the process of reporting on triple bottom line efforts. As an Organizational Stakeholder, USGBC will contribute to the continual improvement and help shape the parameters of GRI’s Reporting Framework.
USGBC and GRI share a vision of a global community that can sustain the health and vitality of all people, environments and economies. Both organizations recognize the importance of defining and measuring our success and progress. USGBC and GRI are also aligned in respective missions to promote transparency and transform standard practices in the marketplace in order to perform in a profitable, socially and environmentally responsible manner.
USGBC has long recognized the value and power of voluntary reporting systems to drive market transformation toward a sustainable future. The LEED rating system has been an important tool to generate a community around improving the built environment. Sustainability reporting is a crucial element of the green building process and the building industry, and USGBC looks forward to being involved in the multi-stakeholder development and adoption of sustainability reporting measures.
U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. With a community comprising 79 local affiliates, nearly 16,000 member organizations, and more than 168,000 LEED Professional Credential holders. USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. GDP from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.
Global Reporting Initiative
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) drives sustainability reporting by all organizations. GRI produces a comprehensive Sustainability Reporting Framework that is widely used around the world, to enable greater organizational transparency. The Framework, including the Reporting Guidelines, sets out the Principles and Indicators organizations can use to measure and report their economic, environmental, and social performance. GRI is committed to continuously improving and increasing the use of the Guidelines, which are freely available to the public.
Contact
Ashley Katz
Media Manager, USGBC
+1 202 742 3738
akatz@usgbc.org
